“I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 3:17; see also Ezekiel 33:1–7).Through the centuries, prophets have fulfilled their duty when they have warned people of the dangers before them. The Lord’s Apostles are duty bound to watch, warn, and reach out to help those seeking answers to life’s questions.” (https://www.lds.org/ensign/2016/04/watchmen-on-the-tower?lang=eng)

​We were in the temple baptistry Wednesday night. It was Miles’ and Aiden’s first time in the temple as Priests. Having been ordained to the office of Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood they could both perform baptisms and act as witnesses. Miles baptized Emma in her aunt’s name, an aunt who died at 16 without ever receiving Christ’s gospel. He also baptized most of the girls, 24 baptisms in all. And he had a really, really good experience.

I am so grateful for modern prophets and the accompanying modern revelation. I see physical manifestation of President Nelson’s spiritual teachings. He said “The adversary is increasing his attack on faith and on families at an exponential rate. To survive spiritually, we need counter-strategies and proactive plans." (Opening remarks, General Conference, October 2018)

President Nelson’s announcements that changed the age young people enter the Young Men’s and Young Women’s programs and allowed priests to perform baptisms for the dead in the temple are divinely inspired counter-strategies and proactive plans. I see the youth being tied more tightly to Christ, I see them having powerful spiritual experiences at increasingly younger ages. I see them erecting protective walls of righteousness around themselves as they are given opportunities to grow spiritually. I see earnest, little eleven year olds feeling the Spirit in the temple, their spiritual responsiveness manifest in their reverent demeanor. I see macho fifteen year olds humbly practicing baptismal procedures and solemnly performing them. I see youth coming unto Christ.

My mother’s heart filled with gratitude as I watched my Miles perform baptisms. I am grateful to a have son who so sincerely uses his priesthood. I am so grateful that my son has the opportunity to sincerely use his priesthood. I am so grateful to have a Savior who loves me and my son and all of God’s children, a Savior who, because He loves us so deeply, wants us to survive spiritually in this increasingly dangerous world. And, at this moment, I am profoundly grateful for a modern prophet, Russell M. Nelson (President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), who, as a “watchman on the tower” warns us of the adversary’s attacks and shares with us Christ’s counter-strategies and proactive plans.

Rock climbing is not the purpose of life---Sorry Talyn and Sam!!--but it has certainly helped me understand the purpose of life. Allow me to explain…..

The purpose of rock climbing is to experience the top. It is not merely to get to the top--a short ride in a helicopter could deliver a person to the peak--but, through experience, to become the type of climber capable of reaching the peak. The victory comes with the successful execution of the process.

Rock climbing is meaningful only because gravity exists. Repeat. If it were not for gravity, rock climbing would be pointless. And the only way to truly learn how to rock climb is to climb rocks. And making mistakes while rock climbing is inevitable---that’s why one wears a safety harness and hooks into ropes. And rock climbing is totally worth it because the view from the top, achieved through experience, is exquisite.

In our pre-Earth lives, we were fledgling rock climbers and God, our Heavenly Father, was at the top of the figurative mountain, enjoying the exquisite view. Like all good fathers, He wanted to share with us His joy. And, being a wise father, He knew we had to experience the journey to enjoy the view. As fledgling rock climbers we’d had pre-rock climbing lessons and conditioning and had progressed as far as we could without climbing the actual cliff. It was time to scale the cliff. To do that, we had to come to Earth and experience mortality.

Just as rock climbing is meaningless without gravity, mortality is meaningless without the possibility of failure. The Fall, that is leaving God’s presence and becoming carnal and sensual, made failure possible and made mortality meaningful.

Mortality is meaningful because we can fail. We can fail because we have choices and because it is possible to make bad choices. Without the ability to make bad choices, mortality would be meaningless just as rock climbing would be pointless without gravity. .

The ability to choose is critical to progress in life just as it is in rock climbing. Without choice progress is not possible. And choice is not possible without appealing options from which to choose. For example, if I hate sweets, doughnuts do not tempt me therefore resisting them does not develop my character. There must be a hook for the choices to be valid. Being carnal and sensual is the hook we mortals have that make our choices valid and that give us the experience we need to progress. If we did not have carnal, sensual appetites, we could not learn to control them. If we were not tempted to be selfish, we could never learn to truly love. Just as gravity is necessary to make rock climbing meaningful, having worldly appetites and passions make our choices meaningful. And, in both cases, making good choices leads to success.

Let’s review the analogy and take it a few steps further……

Gravity makes rock climbing meaningful The only way to learn to climb rocks is to climb them. Mistakes are inevitable while rock climbing and, because of gravity, mistakes can be fatal. However, mistakes do not have to be fatal because rock climbers have safety ropes.

Opposition and carnality make mortality meaningful. The only way to get to where God is, is to go through mortality. Mistakes are inevitable while in mortality and, because God honors our choices, mortal mistakes can be eternally fatal However mistakes made in mortality are not necessarily fatal because of Christ’s atonement. He is our safety net.

Just as in rock climbing people make stupid decisions, so do we in mortality. Just as in rock climbing, ropes protect climbers--if they choose to use them--so do covenants and commandments protect us--if we choose to use them. In rock climbing, not using ropes can have serious, permanent consequences. In life, mistakes can have serious and permanent consequences if we choose to ignore Christ. His commandments and covenants are our safety net. If we fall, He will catch us--if we let Him. His atonement intervenes with gravity, so to speak. He does not eliminate gravity--it certainly still exists--but He comes between us and gravity, protecting us from its consequences.

Replace the word “gravity” with the word “justice”. Christ steps between us and justice--that is He extends mercy--when we turn to Him, when we accept His safety net. What does accepting His safety net look like? Repentance, faith and trust, baptism, enduring to the end in following Him.

Christ is able to be our safety net because He paid the price for our sins and mistakes. And, as an extra bonus, He also experienced all the yuckiness associated with our “climb”---sickness, fatigue, discouragement, despair, betrayal, loneliness--so He knows perfectly, and empathetically, how to comfort and support us in our quest.

And it is the quest that makes the whole thing meaningful, in climbing and in life. We are on a quest to become like our Father in Heaven. He is on the top of the cliff and He wants us to join Him. He loves us completely and thoroughly as only a God can. And, because He loves us so all-encompassingly, He wants us to have all that He has, to be able to do all that He does, to see and experience all that He experiences. And, He knows that in order to do all that, to have all that, to BE all that, we must learn to climb the cliff.

The quest is get to the top of the cliff. It is gravity that makes the quest meaningful. And it is the ropes that make the quest possible.

The quest is to be like God. It is justice that makes the quest meaningful. And it is Christ that makes the quest possible.

They say you don't appreciate things until you lose them. I am really learning to appreciate a good night's sleep. Post surgery it was my knee that kept me awake. Finding a comfortable sleeping position when one knee does not straighten or bend without considerable pain is tricky. This past week a head cold has replaced knee pain as the sleep thief. No matter how much Nighttime NyQuil I take, my head seems to fill the moment I lay in on the pillow. Sleep has been very elusive. In a previous life (pre-December 10, 2018) I was mostly asleep at 9:30 p.m., no matter where I was or what I was doing. And I was completely asleep within 30 seconds of becoming horizontal, no matter what. Asleep. Gone. Period. Last night I was still wide awake at 3:00 a.m. YIKES! It is a nasty cold. Lance was down for 7 days and Miles missed 2 days of school.

Actually the cold is nasty and nice. Nasty in all the awful cold ways---stuffed sinuses, hacking cough, raw throat, aching joints, splitting headache---and nice in that it brought angels to our door. Sweet Sandy Sue delivered vitamin C and antioxidants in the form of oranges and blueberries (BLUEBERRIES!!) and then insisted on bringing dinner Wednesday. Thursday my parents brought us lunch from Great Harvest. Friday night Mom and Dad showed up with dinner again and while she was serving me, Mom said, "I have already decided what I am bringing you for dinner tomorrow." Today she asked if she could bring us dinner Monday and/or Tuesday. If it weren't for the nastiness of the cold, having a cold would be great.

May angels come to your door, may colds avoid your house, and may you enjoy a great night's sleep!

​On a mid-December Saturday several years ago I found an infant lamb in the barn. We’d been gone for a week and she’d been born sometime during our absence. She came into this world unaccompanied by fanfare of any kind and spent her first few days on this Earth in relative obscurity, her existence unknown to anyone but her mother and the other two ewes in the pasture. I was filled with wonder as I held her in my arms; wonder at the miracle of her birth, wonder at the purity in her eyes, and wonder at the perfectness of her little being. And to think she had been there for days; right there in my barn waiting for me to discover her. I was surprised by her presence; surprised and very happy.

At this time of year, my thoughts wander to another Lamb who was also born in relative obscurity, unaccompanied by fanfare, whose presence on Earth was known only by a relative few. As I think of Him, my heart fills with wonder; wonder at the miracle of His birth, wonder at the purity of His life, and wonder at the perfectness of His being. I also wonder how many times He has been right there, in my barn so to speak, waiting for me to discover Him. Often I am surprised by His presence; surprised and very happy.

Christ is THE gift; His presence is our present. His birth was the first Christmas gift and His atonement makes His gift last; thanks to Him we can last forever as resurrected beings, living with our families in eternal peace and joy. First and Last, Alpha and Omega. Praise (and thanks) be to God and the Lamb, forever and ever, Amen!

Monday, December 10, at 9:45 a.m. Dr. John Edwards did a total knee arthroplasty on my right knee.

Maybe getting a new replacement is a little like having a baby…. You forget from one time to the next about a lot of little things. Things like….

The bruising. The inside of my right upper leg is an impressive hodge-podge of purple. I am sure that in a few days it will be green and yellow and will have moved down into my calf. Too bad it is not short season; a bruise like that needs to be displayed with pride.

The pain in the butt. Now I remember thinking back then that is was so odd that my butt ached when it was my knee that they cut. I had forgotten the butt ache until my butt started aching again. Have I mentioned that my butt hurts?

The challenge it is to make oneself do physical therapy five times a day. Yea right… I am to do the stretches 5x’s daily and the muscle building exercises 3x’s daily. Not going to happen. Twice a day is good for me. (Five times a day would be better for me but…. )

How bad it hurts to straighten one’s leg. I remember it being excruciating to lay on my back for 10 minutes with my heel raised 2 inches off the ground; letting gravity pull my knee down. I remember it as being so, so painful. But apparently painful memories fade with time because the pain this time seems to reach an entirely new level of agony.

There are things I remember correctly about having a knee replaced. Things like:

Use frozen water bottles for the ice machine. It significantly reduces the amount of ice needed.

Mountain West Surgical Center serves the patient and significant other Kneaders for lunch. The soup, sandwich, salad, and cinnamon roll lasted me three meals. YUMMY!

Drugs are awesome!

The nerve block inserted in the knee is truly miraculous. Once again it gave me 36 post-surgery, pain-free hours. My knee was replaced Monday morning and I came home Monday afternoon. Tuesday I corrected 40 research papers, read an entire book, wrote three letters, did physical therapy twice (!!!), graded several labs and quizzes, recorded scores, held 17 text conversations, read and marked 8 chapters in the Book of Mormon, and had Family Home Evening with Miles and Lance.. Amazing what one can do in a pain-free day from the couch.

Opioids are awesome too. When the nerve block wore off I spend a pain free night in la la land. Every two hours I took either 2 tablets of generic Ultram or 2 tablets of generic Norco. Every cell in my body was happy and relaxed.

And there are some things that I learned that were new with this surgery. Things like:

It does not do any good to tell the Relief Society (women’s organization for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) not to bring meals in. Meals come anyway. I cooked several meals ahead, Lance made a huge pot of his fabulous spaghetti sauce and we had leftovers from the church Christmas party. We did not need meals. Need did not matter. Meals appeared anyway. Lanae (darling niece) brought dinner Tuesday and Jerika (beloved YW president) brought dinner Wednesday. Sandy showed up with a box (big box) of fruits and vegetables (including blueberries!!!!) and 5 boxes of frozen dinners. I won’t have to cook for weeks.

Maybe getting a knee replaced is more like pregnancy than I realized. The painkillers made me nauseous. NASTY!! But, thanks to a significant reduction in the intake of painkillers and the quick increase in the intake of another miracle drug (Zofran is my best friend!) the nausea did not last long. Nope, not a all like pregnancy!

Getting a nerve block in the knee can give a person drop foot syndrome. I had to use crutches the first night (Oh, how mortifying! I was walking freely the first night with the first knee) because my entire right leg felt like one’s tongue feels when it has been numbed by the dentist. In fact, using my tongue to walk would have been just as effective as using my right leg at that point.

Heating pads and electric blankets deserve a place in heaven. Something about running ice water 24/7 over a swollen knee in a drafty house with outside temperatures rarely making it above freezing makes a person cold so…..I wrap my feet in the electric blanket while sitting on the heating pad and then, on average, every cell in my body is happy…. even without opioids.

I am not as young as I was six months ago (duh!!) when the first knee was replaced. Not sure if the new left knee is not as strong now as the old right knee was before it was replaced OR if I am simply remembering inaccurately (...what was I in this room for?...) but it seems like I am walking less gracefully and more slowly than I was after the left knee replacement. Imagine a cow on ice going uphill at the speed of cold molasses. That’s me.

That’s me! I went to a faculty Christmas party Friday night, a service project and a theater performance Saturday, and to Music and the Spoken Word today. Tomorrow I will return to the classroom but only for one day. Originally I scheduled a substitute teacher for the two weeks of school that sat between my surgery date and the beginning of Christmas break. Thinking I was stronger than I am, I cancelled next week’s substitute teacher. Realizing that I am not as strong (or as smart) as I thought I was, I reinstated the sub for the remainder of the week. Tuesday my Christmas vacation begins.

WHAAAAAA-WHOOOO!

​

Pre-surgery the right knee is the better knee

Post surgery the left knee is the better knee

Miles checks out the couch to make sure it is good enough for me and my knee

Dianne was completely surprised by the 160 people who showed up for her 80th birthday party….but no one else was. To know Dianne is to feel her love and to reciprocate it. Of course people flew in from all over the country (California, Kansas, Oregon, Washington State, Ohio), missed intense basketball games (Weber beat BYU!) and braved snowstorms (Tanah had to detour to Delta on her way back to Cedar City) to attend the party. Of course! We would not miss it.

We would not miss the opportunity to pay homage to this wonderful lady….and we did not miss it. In fact, not only did we not miss the opportunity to honor her, we took full advantage of it. People from all walks of Dianne’s life-- childhood friends (starting at 3 years old), high school friends, family, co-workers, her “boys” (WSU athletes she’d taken under her wing)--took turns at the mic, all sharing ways Dianne had lit their worlds.

“I showed up at her home with blood all over my face and she welcomed me, I showed up at 2 a.m. and she welcomed me. I showed up on a Harley and she welcomed me.”

“I was new to the country and missed my family desperately. I sat in her kitchen and she was family to me.”

“In my darkest days, she literally saved my life.”

“I could show up anytime, clear a spot on the counter, and she’d feed me.”

Perhaps Dan Walker said it best….or should I say “sang” it best. He reminded us of the Christian song “This LIttle Light of Mine” and altered it to fit Dianne. Some people, he explained, need to be in the spotlight. Not Dianne. She has a light, alright, and it shines but it does not shine on her. Dianne shines her light on others. Following his lead, we sang about her:

Dianne Leatham Hislop is a true example of Christlike service. She shines His light.

This Christmas season, let’s follow her example and use His light to Light The World. I invite (maybe even challenge…) you to join me in Lighting the World by following Christ’s example to love and serve others. For ideas on how to Light the World, visit https://www.mormon.org/christmas/service-calendar-ideas

There you will find videos, suggestions and a downloadable calendar. One of the suggestions for December’s first week is to “Share on social media someone who is an example of Christlike service”. [Check!]

This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine on someone else this season and I invite you to do the same.

“If you can get here, I will buy the tickets,” Wright retorted. Wright’s response may have been real or rhetorical but Miles took him seriously and Wright, BLESS HIM, was good to his word. The Green Bay Packers played the Seahawks in Seattle on November 15, 2018 and we were there. WE WERE THERE!!!!

Credit card points got us on the plane, $40 got us a parking spot a half mile from the stadium, and Wright got us into the game.

And what a game! The Seahawks fumbled in the first few minutes and the Packers took advantage to jump to an early 7-0 lead, a lead they kept most of the game. Sadly for Miles, they did not have the lead when the final whistle blew but the Packer’s loss did not cause any loss of enthusiasm for Miles. He saw his revered Aaron Rodgers in action and that was all he needed.

Rodgers made a couple incredible passes, including a 50+ yard-er thrown off balance and across his body. The ball sailed to the end zone and landed in the hands of his receiver, a receiver flanked by two defenders. “No one else in the NFL even attempts a pass like that,” Miles raved, “much less makes it!”

He loved, LOVED, seeing Aaron in action. “It is so different in real life than on T.V.,” he explained. “On T.V. you don’t get the perspective. In the stadium you can see just how amazing it is, how far he can really throw.”

The night was a win for Miles. It was a win for Lance and I too. Of course we loved seeing Miles’ joy--it is what parents do--but we also enjoyed being at the game. I was very impressed by the crowd for multiple reasons. Miles wore a Packer’s wrestling mask over his face and a cheese-head wedge on his head, a Green Bay hoodie over his torso and Packers socks on his feet. He was clearly not a Seahawks fan. And he was not the only non-Hawk fan in the crowd. There were many, many green and yellow clad people in the crowd. I estimate roughly a third of the people surrounding us were Packer fans. (We were in the upper part of the upper bowl...my guess is that there were a lot fewer Packer fans in the lower areas.) There were enough Packers fans there that, in the game’s beginning, their “Go, Pack, Go!” chant was audible. Impressive that there were that many fans that far from home.

Also impressive were the Seahawks fans. On the walk to the stadium, Miles experienced a little good natured ribbing but it was very good natured. One Hawks fan said, in a distinctive southern drawl, “You wear that into the stadium and you may get mugged, man! Especially when we win--and we gonna win--but don’t you worry none cuz I got your back. I gonna remember your face and I got your back. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you,” he promised with a grin.

Well…..our black friend was right about the Seahawks winning part---the Packers lost 24-27--but he was totally wrong about the mugging part. I was so, SO impressed as we exited the stadium. Initially I was worried about my little boy (he will always be my little boy) walking out clad in full Packer regalia, that he would be harassed, humiliated, and worse but my fears were totally, TOTALLY groundless. Not a word was said. No one even teased him, much less taunted him; nor did they tease or taunt any other of the hundreds of Packers fans who were also exiting. Impressive.

It was a wonderful weekend, and not just because Miles saw Aaron in action. Hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law and their darling daughters was fabulous. Thank you, Wright and Carole, for a truly magical experience.

As we walked out of the stadium Miles said, “This is NOT the last live NFL game I am going to see.”

Miles was nervous too. “I just can’t wait for this day to be over,” he said repeatedly. He’d been preparing for his Eagle Scout project months and dreading it for at least a week.

Setting up booths in the Sand Ridge Junior High lunch room and inviting students to write Thank You cards to servicemen and women seemed like a good idea initially but as the event grew closer the fear grew greater. What if no one comes to the table? What if the kids totally ignore it or, worse, mock it? Junior high students can be such fickle creatures….. The possibility of fail was real….and scary.

We set up two tables in the lunchroom, one equipped with cards and pens, the second full of bling donated by Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine recruiters. The plan was to lure students over with the trinkets, persuade them to write a letter while they were there, and then reward them with bling.

Bling unnecessary.

Almost from the moment the first lunch bell rang, there were students at the table signing cards. And they were not just signing cards, they were writing letters. Writing letters!!! I teach junior high students. I know how hard it is to get them to write complete sentences, much less complete letters. Yet these incredible students were writing incredible letters. And not just a few of them. LOTS of them.

Within the first few moments it was clear that one table was not enough. We got a second table for the letter writers and probably could have filled several more. Not once, during first or second lunch, was there a lasting gap at the letter writing table. When one student finished writing a card, another student stepped in.

And, get this…..There were no chairs at the tables. The students, about 130 of them, knelt to write the card. In the lunchroom, in the midst of their friends, they knelt on the floor so they could write on the tables.

Amazing.

Beautiful.

Wonderful. Awesome. And inspiring.

Oh how I wish the naysayers--those people who lament about the youth of today--could have seen the Sand Ridge students. They are fabulous people and our future is in good hands.

I will carry images of those kids in my heart forever, kneeling on the cafeteria floor, squinting as they looked up at the instructions on the poster, heads bent over cards, lips pursed as they intently and sometimes laboriously but always sincerely expressed their admiration and gratitude. I took some absolutely darling photos of those amazing kids, pictures that capture their magnificence much better than my words do but, just before the end of second lunch, a SRJH administrator reminded me that I cannot post any photos of students unless I have parental permission. Yep. I should have known that. So the fabulous photos will remain in Miles’ scrapbook and you will have to settle for my less-than-ideal word pictures.

I have, however, included photos of some of the letters they wrote. Read through them. They are endearing, heartfelt, sincere, and very real. Watching those students and reading their messages filled me with hope and gratitude and love.

I want to add my thanks to theirs. Thank you to all who have served our great country and thank you to all who are grateful for their service and appreciative of it.

​

"I cannot even imagine leaving my family and friends for so long by you do it without question and that's cool as crap man."

"I have descendents in the armed forces. A lot actually....Thank you for fighting for me and them......My favorite food is meatloaf."

"BYU doesn't suck and Utah won against Oregon so things are changing."

"I want to be worthy of your sacrifice."

"Whoever you're with I hope they give you as much joy as my dog gives me."

"I hope you have some kind of fluffy or scaley companion."

"I can imagine what our country would be like without you. I would not like a slave camp very much."

Please join us in thanking our military servicemen and women, those who have served as well as those who are serving.

At Sand Ridge Junior High School, as his Eagle project, Miles is coordinating an “Operation: Gratitude” campaign. During lunches, students will be invited to write THANK YOU cards to those who have served and are serving in our military. We invite you to do the same.

​Following are the guidelines for the letters:

Begin “Dear Service Member” or “Dear Hero”

Express thanks

Tell about self: family, hobbies, pets

Talk about life here: sports, weather, music, movies

If you are not sure what to say, draw a picture

Please do NOT put a date on the letter

If you are an adult, include contact information.

End with “Sincerely” and sign name

From the Operation: Gratitude website: “Every Operation Gratitude Care Package includes a bundle of letters from the American people, thanking Troops, Veterans, New Recruits, Wounded Heroes and their Caregivers, or First Responders for their service to our country. Care Package recipients tell us these letters, notes, and drawings are the most cherished items in their box.” https://www.operationgratitude.com/express-your-thanks/write-letters/

Please send or email your THANK YOU message to us. We will put all the expressions of gratitude into a boxed bundle and send them to Operation: Gratitude. thislop@msn.com OR Operation: Gratitude, ℅ Miles Hislop, 1435 Lincoln Ave, Ogden, UT 84404.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

When my dad lost the dairy, it was HARD TIMES for him and my sweet mother for years--almost 5 years--- but Mom and Dad stayed firm in the faith and it all worked out. In fact their move to Toledo turned out to be an incredible blessing both for Dad’s career and for their retirement.

When I was single for a years---almost 10 years--it was HARD TIMES. At one point I was certain that all the good men in the world were either related to me, already married or both. I remember fighting back tears as I walked down the cereal aisle of the grocery store because I looked a Cheerio box, remembered eating cereal on Sundays with my family, and realized I was alone. But I remained true to the faith and I have been hugely blessed.

When Lance’s business and our marriage was failing it was HARD TIMES for years--over 10 years. I distinctly remember looking out the bathroom window one day and realizing that my life sucked. I was immensely unhappy. “How did I get here?” I wondered. Lance had separate but similar feelings. But we stayed true to the faith and it all worked out. We have been blessed beyond measure.

As I have looked back on those hard times I marvel at the angst I experienced that I did not have to. If I had just had faith, if I had just trusted more in the Lord, my God, I would not have suffered so much. I would have shed fewer tears for my father. I would have enjoyed the freedom of my single years so much more. If I had trusted God more I would not have been so blinded by my pain and would have been freed to better help Lance with his. Oh the angst, heartache, anxiety, and soul wrenching pain I could have avoided if I had just trusted my God! If I had just trusted Him that it would all work out…...

There are hard times looming on the horizon. We are bringing in only a third of the income to which we are accustomed. Un-serendipitously we have also had thousands of dollars of extra expenses--braces, wisdom teeth removal, property taxes due, van repair. My must-have-money-in-savings soul could be seriously distressed. Additionally our children--who are all fabulous people, by the way!!--have challenges. My mommy heart could be torn and tormented.

But I am at peace. Trust is the path I am taking this time. It will all work out.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27​“ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33